Like A Moth To A Flame
by bklue18
Summary: As a firefighter, Jonathan Good seemed to have everything in order except for his love life. What happens when he starts to find that part of his life but lose everything else in the process?
1. Oh, Hello

"Control, this is Unit 5A, station officer Good speaking. The location has been cleared. We're heading back to base now, over."

"Control speaking. Noted. Unit 5A may proceed, over."

Jonathan put the transceiver back into his holder as he leaned back into his seat. The ride from their location back to the fire station wasn't very long but he had been on a 24-hour shift and any small breaks were not taken for granted.

Just as he was about to close his eyes for a while, he felt someone tap him. He turned his head slightly to see the face of his best friend and co-worker by the corner of his seat.

"Hey. Wanna have a few drinks with us?" He asked, grinning.

Jonathan shook his head, "No thanks. I wanna head home for a good, long sleep."

"Aww… Come on, Jon! It's just a few drinks!" His best friend said  
"As if. A few drinks with you, Colby, means a dozen till I'm wasted." Jonathan said

He turned back to face the front, "And even if I do have a day off tomorrow, I'm not wasting it on you."

Colby put his hands up in defeat, "Fine. I'll just ask Joe then."

Jonathan shook his head at his best friend before sitting upright as the fire truck made a turn to the station. As soon as the truck parked in place, they got out to clean up and get everything ready to hand over the truck to the next shift.

As Jonathan was about to re-arrange the stuff they had used in their previous assignment, he felt someone's hand on his shoulder.

"I'll take over. You should go home and get some rest."

Jonathan turned around to see Joe, his other best friend and fellow officer from his team.

"No, I can manage." Jonathan said, carrying on.  
"Dude. You've been awake for 24 hours straight. Just go home. The rest of the team and I can handle it." Joe said  
"Yeah. Unlike you, we have only been on a 15 hour shift." Colby said

Seeing his two friends persuade him so, he reluctantly let go of the hose he was rolling up and passed it to Joe.

"You're going to make sure everything's good before Heath gets here, right?" Jonathan said  
"What do you think? We're not going to let him and his goons have the time of day." Colby said

He nodded, "Fine. Then I'll leave this to you then."

"No worries. Just go." Joe said

Knowing that everything was in good hands, Jonathan left for the locker room to change out of his uniform and grab his things before heading home.

* * *

As Jonathan walked his usual route home, he would always pass a bookstore that was situated next to a cafe. Looking at the time, it was well pass 9pm and the cafe was closing up.

Jonathan sighed.

It wasn't because the cafe was closing up but because the bookstore next door was already closed. Jonathan had hoped of bumping into the owner who would always give him a smile as he passed. Being on the 24-hour shift, he had missed seeing her for one day.

Jonathan knew her though. They weren't exactly friends but they spoke all the time when he bumped into her at the cafe. Okay… Maybe not speaking since the two words he had managed to get out were just 'hello' and 'bye'.

Jonathan Good was never a shy guy. In fact, he was the opposite. Throughout his life, he had been a pretty outspoken kind of guy and had been with girls before. But when it came to chatting up this girl who owned a bookstore, he became the shy guy that he never knew.

Just as he was about to walk pass the cafe, she came out - wearing her green beanie and her black trench coat with her brown satchel slung around her body and a cup of coffee in her hand.

She smiled as soon as she saw him.

"Hey!" She said, pushing her glasses up.

Jonathan managed a smile, "Hey."

"Did you just get off work?" She asked

Jonathan was a little lost. This was going to be a more than two words conversation.

"Uh… Yeah…" Jonathan said  
"Wow… You've been at work for a long time?" She asked  
"24 hours." Jonathan replied

Seeing the slightly confused look on her face, he added, "I'm a firefighter."

"Oh!" She said, "Wow! That's so cool!"

"Thanks." Jonathan said

Hearing his response made her chuckle. It was the first time she's met a guy who doesn't try to paint a wondrous egotistical picture of himself after she says something like that.

"Well, I shouldn't hold you up then." She said, "You look pretty tired."

She re-adjusted the position of her satchel before saying, "See you around!"

Just as she walked a few steps away from him, Jonathan found his voice again.

"Uh! Wait!" He called out

She stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him, "Yeah?"

He cleared his throat a little and said, "I-I'm Jonathan… What's your name?"

She smiled, "I'm Jasmine. It's nice to finally meet you, Jonathan."

He looked at her a little confused before she continued, "Have a good night!"

With that, she turned around and walked further down the street.

Jonathan stood there for a good minute, trying to wrap his head around what just happened. When he finally found an interpretation of what she might have meant, he cracked a smile to himself before continuing on his path home.


	2. Making A Date

The next morning, Jonathan decided to visit Jasmine's bookstore. On one hand, his goal was to look for some new books and on the other hand, he wanted to find a way to get close to Jasmine.

He entered the bookstore and expected to see Jasmine at the cashier but instead, there stood a Hispanic teenage girl who looked about 19 years old. It was then that he realized that she didn't work there alone.

Jonathan walked further into the store and spotted Jasmine handling new books from a box that was set next to her. Not wanting to seem like he came in just to look for her, he quickly picked up the nearest book that was on the shelf to look busy.

His eyes met with Jasmine's just as he lifted the book to his eye level.

She smiled at him and walked over to him.

She chuckled a little, "Hi."

Jonathan smiled, "Hi."

"It's pretty amazing that you have the ability to read upside down." Jasmine said  
"What?" Jonathan said

Jasmine pointed at the book he was supposedly reading and it turns out, he had been holding the book upside down. Embarrassed, Jonathan quickly closed the book and put it back onto the shelf. She smiled at his nervousness just as he put one hand into his jeans pocket.

"So… What brings you here today?" Jasmine asked, "Are you looking for a book?"

"I'm just browsing…" Jonathan replied, "But I think you could use some help from me."

"Ah. You spotted the box of doom." Jasmine said  
"So, how about it, boss?" Jonathan asked

Jasmine smiled, "Well… I do need some extra help… So… Consider yourself hired for the day!"

* * *

"Where do I put these?" Jonathan asked, placing his hand on top of a stack of books.

Jasmine looked at the stack and pointed at the cashier, "You can leave them with Raini."

"Okay." Jonathan said

He carried the stack of books and walked towards the girl at the cashier.

"Raini?" He said

The girl smiled, "Yup! That's me!"

"Jasmine told me to leave the books here." Jonathan said

"Okay." Raini said, "I'll stack those later."

Jonathan nodded and put the stack by the shelf behind Raini, like she asked. Just as he was about to head back to where Jasmine was, Raini turned to look at him.

"Are you Miss Jasmine's boyfriend?" Raini asked

The question caught Jonathan off-guard. He wasn't usually the type to get labeled by on-lookers since most of his relationship never lasted more than a week.

He shook his head, "No… I'm just a friend."

"Oh…" Raini said, "Sorry. I just assumed since Miss Jasmine never had guys coming in to talk to her or even help her with the books."

Jonathan offered her a small smile, "That's okay…"

"What's your name?" Raini asked  
"Jonathan." He replied  
"Oh! You work at the fire station, right?" Raini said  
"Yeah… How did you know?" Jonathan asked

Raini chuckled a little, "My dad works there. Roy Rodriguez?"

"Roy!" Jonathan said, "You're his little girl."

Raini smiled, "Yup! The one and only."

Just then, Jasmine placed another stack of new books next to the stack Jonathan brought over.

"Miss Jasmine!" Raini said, "My dad knows him."

"So I've heard." Jasmine said

The two of them looked at her with a puzzled expression.

She chuckled, "I can hear the two of you from over there."

Raini laughed and Jonathan smiled. Jasmine smiled back at the two of them before looking at her watch.

She clapped her hands together, "It's lunch time!"

Raini stood up straight and looked at her watch, "Oh, it is!"

"So, you're heading home for lunch?" Jasmine asked Raini

"Yup." Raini said, "I'll be back here in an hour."

Jasmine nodded and waved as Raini got her knapsack before heading to the entrance of the bookstore. As soon as she left, Jasmine turned to Jonathan.

"So… You and I are going to go for lunch." Jasmine said, "Because I owe you one for helping me get my task done so fast."

Jonathan smiled, "I can never say no to a free meal."

* * *

They headed to the cafe just next door for lunch. The waiter led them to the back of the cafe and sat them down at a table for two. After placing their orders, the waiter headed off to get started on their orders.

"So, thank you so much for your help today." Jasmine said, "If not, I would be only done in the afternoon and that's including skipping lunch."

Jonathan smiled, "You're welcome."

She leaned forward in her seat, "You know… I have never really seen you smile so much until today."

"What do you mean?" Jonathan asked  
"You always look grouchy when I see you walk by the store and when you're waiting in line here, at the cafe." Jasmine replied

Jonathan laughed a little, "That's cause I'm not usually a smiley-kinda guy."

"Well, you should smile more." Jasmine said, "It looks nice on you."

He looked at her and said, "Is that a confession to you watching me whenever I'm around the area?"

Jasmine blushed a little and turned her head away to focus on something else. Lucky for her, their food arrived and the waiter placed the plates in front of them. As soon as the waiter walked off, Jasmine hurriedly took up her cutlery, ready to dig in when she realized Jonathan was still looking at her, waiting for an answer.

"You should eat quickly…" Jasmine said, "Or your food will get cold."

He merely smiled a little as he picked up his cutlery, amused at Jasmine's shyness.

* * *

After lunch, Jonathan walked Jasmine back to the bookstore. Just as they entered, Raini waved at them and Jasmine waved back before heading towards the back room with Jonathan.

"So…" Jonathan said, "You haven't answered my question yet."

She felt the warmth rush to her cheeks again and shyly said, "Well… Yeah…"

Jonathan smiled, "The thing is… I've been walking pass your bookstore most of the time instead of the shortcut to the fire station because of you…"

"You have?" Jasmine said

Jonathan nodded, "Yeah. Ever since I saw you at the bookstore."

Jasmine smiled, "So you're the real stalker."

He grinned, "Guilty as charged."

"So, is it alright to ask you out for dinner tomorrow night?" Jonathan asked  
"Like a date?" Jasmine said  
"Yeah." Jonathan replied

She smiled, "I thought you'd never ask."

Jonathan smiled widely, "I'll see you here tomorrow night, then."

Jasmine nodded before looking at him suspiciously, "You're not going to leave now, are you?"

"I was hired for the day, remember?" Jonathan said

Jasmine smiled at him just as he turned around to walk back to the front of the bookstore.


	3. Good Mood

The next morning, Jonathan woke up with the happiest of moods. He was going for a dinner date with Jasmine in the night and having that on his mind was just what he needed to keep his day cheery.

He headed to the cafe by the bookstore to grab two cups of coffee before popping into the bookstore.

"Mornin'." Jonathan greeted, seeing Jasmine behind the counter.

He placed a cup of coffee on the counter, in front of her.

She smiled, "Good morning…"

"Coffee for you." He said  
"What's the occasion?" Jasmine asked

Jonathan shrugged, "Nothing… Just wanted to pop in to make sure you don't forget our date tonight…"

Jasmine sipped the coffee and said, "So this was like an excuse?"

"Yeah… Kinda." Jonathan said

She smiled, "Well, thank you for your coffee, Mr Good. But, I will never forget tonight's date."

He smiled back, "I'll see you later then."

She nodded and he pat the counter once before walking towards the front door of the store. Just as he opened the door, Jasmine stopped him.

"Have a good day and be careful!" Jasmine said

He glanced back and smiled, "I will."

* * *

Jonathan arrived for his shift in a good mood which his friends, Joe and Colby, both found a little unusual. After finishing his coffee, Jonathan threw it into the bin by the door before heading towards his locker.

His two friends followed him. Joe sat by the bench behind Jonathan while Colby leaned against the locker next to Jonathan.

"What?" Jonathan asked, acknowledging their presence.

Colby shrugged, "Nothing…"

"We're just wondering why you're in an unusually good mood." Joe said

Jonathan said nothing as he pulled off his t-shirt before throwing it into his locker.

"Silence doesn't mean we can't start guessing." Colby said

Jonathan looked at Colby and gave him a straight face before turning back to what he was doing.

"That doesn't throw me off, Good." Colby said

He grinned, "I'm guessing that your unusually good mood today is related to a girl."

Jonathan shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not."

"Did you get laid?" Joe asked

Jonathan looked at Joe, "I don't do one-night stands."

"Well, you used to… Back in college." Colby said

Joe tossed a towel on the bench at Colby to get him to shut up. College was a memory they didn't want to remind Jonathan about. Not when he was in a good mood. While Joe tried steering the topic away from the college remark Colby made, Heath came into the locker room.

"Well, well, well…" Heath said, "If it isn't the three amigos."

Colby looked at Heath, "You know, just because my surname's Lopez doesn't make me completely a Hispanic, you racist."

"America's a free country… I can say whatever I want to you three." Heath said  
"If it doesn't cause you your life." Joe muttered

Colby laughed and hit Joe's arm as an agreement.

"That's not even close to funny, Lopez." Heath said  
"It is for me, Slater." Colby said  
"No one asked for your opinion." Heath said  
"America's a free country, Slater." Colby said

With his fair skin and orange hair, it was easy to tell when Heath got angry and Colby could tell that he achieved his goal.

"You should go get a life, Slater." Colby said

Heath laughed, "I do have a life, Lopez. And pretty soon, I'll be getting a promotion too."

Jonathan stopped arranging his locker as soon as he heard the word 'promotion'.

"What are you talking about, Slater?" Joe asked  
"Andrew said that he heard Hunter on the phone and he is going to promote one of the station officers to a senior role." Heath replied

Heath looked at Jonathan, "And I am pretty damn sure it will be me over Good."

Instead of rebutting with words, Jonathan slammed his locker shut and glared at Heath for a second before pushing pass him on his way out.

"You should be careful what you say." Joe said, "If anyone should get a guaranteed promotion, it will be Jonathan over you."

"Get that in your carrot top, Slater." Colby said

Both Joe and Colby left the locker room a minute after Jonathan left, hoping to catch up with their friend for a quick word about Heath's news.

As he headed to his office, Jonathan thought about the news Heath shared. Sure, he joined the fire department because it was his passion to save lives and not because of the raise in ranks. He loved his job and he always left his duties with a satisfied feeling. But hearing Heath talk about the promotion made Jonathan a little pissed. He worked harder than Heath and if anyone should be promoted, it should be him.

Not wanting to let Heath's self-praise get into his head, Jonathan decided to forget about it and just concentrate on his duties and the upcoming date with Jasmine.

* * *

The day went pass real quick and except for the one pet rescue mission that they did for the day, Jonathan was stuck in his office doing paperwork.

Once the clock hit 6, Jonathan got up from his desk and headed towards the locker room.

Joe and Colby were both on their way to ask Jonathan out for the night when they saw him leaving his office in a hurry.

"Where do you think he's going?" Joe asked  
"Let's follow him." Colby replied

Just as Colby was about to sprint ahead, Joe held him back.

"Do you think it's a good idea?" Joe asked  
"He's our best friend. Even if it's not a good idea, he isn't going to do shit to us." Colby replied

Joe knew what Colby said was true so he let Colby's arm go and they both made their way to the locker room.

* * *

Jonathan walked over to the bookstore where Jasmine was waiting outside for him. Little did he know, Joe and Colby were a few steps behind him, trailing him.

As Jonathan approached Jasmine, she spotted his two friends behind him.

She looked at Jonathan, "Are we going on a group date?"

Jonathan looked at her strangely, wondering what she meant when she pointed behind him.

He turned around and saw his best friends. Colby smiled widely before walking pass him towards Jasmine with an extended hand.

"Hi! How do you do?" Colby said, "I'm Colby Lopez. What's your name?"

Jasmine smiled, "Hi. I'm Jasmine."

Joe smiled and extended his hand, "Name's Joe. Nice to meet you, Jasmine."

Jonathan looked at his two best friends and gritted his teeth as he spoke.

"What the fuck are the two of you doing here?" Jonathan said, trying to say it without Jasmine hearing.

Colby merely smiled at his best friend and looked at Jasmine.

"We just needed to see who Jonathan here was rushing off to meet." Colby said  
"And we can see that the two of you need to be somewhere." Joe said

He grabbed Colby's arm, "So, we'll be going off now."

"Oh… Okay." Jasmine said, "It was nice to meet you."

"You too." Joe said  
"You two behave yourselves now." Colby said

Jonathan bit his lips to refrain from cussing at Colby, who grinned at him. Joe pushed Colby ahead of him before nodding at Jonathan who mouthed 'thank you' to him.

Once they were gone, Jasmine could see Jonathan's embarrassed face. She chuckled to herself and he looked at her.

"Sorry about that." Jonathan said, "They like turning up uninvited."

Jasmine smiled at him, "That's okay. It was nice to see your friends."

He looked at her, slightly surprised by her response.

"It was?" Jonathan asked  
"Yeah… Why?" Jasmine said

"Because most girls don't usually handle that well." Jonathan said, "They all think it's some sort of test."

"Well… I'm not most girls." Jasmine said

Jonathan smiled, "You sure ain't."

Jasmine smiled at him before she walked a few steps ahead of him.

"Where are you going?" Jonathan asked  
"On a date with a Mr Good." Jasmine replied

She turned to look at him, "Are you coming?"

Jonathan grinned, "You betcha."


	4. Start Of Something New

After a great dinner at the local cafe, Jonathan and Jasmine decided to go for a walk in the park. She had said that it was good for their digestion but Jonathan didn't really care about that. He just merely wanted to spend more time with her as he really wanted to get to know her better.

Jasmine stopped walking and turned to face Jonathan, "Let's play 5 questions."

He looked at her, "What's that?"

"Well, it's a quick way to get to know each other." Jasmine said, "What do you say, Mr mystery fireman?"

He smiled, "I accept."

She smiled back, "Good! Why don't you start?"

He nodded a little and said, "This is the most basic question. Where's your hometown?"

"Well… I was originally from Manhattan, New York." Jasmine said  
"And I was from Cincinnati, Ohio." Jonathan said  
"From the South, eh?" Jasmine said

Jonathan grinned, "I'm a Southern gentleman."

Jasmine chuckled, "I'll have to get back to you on that."

He shrugged with a smile, "Which will be pretty soon."

She shook her head as she sat down on a bench, "Okay. My turn. What is your happiest memory as an adult?"

Jonathan smiled, "I would say… Right now."

She looked at him, a smile on her lips, "You're trying to get into my good books, aren't you?"

He shrugged with a nonchalant look, "Am I?"

Jasmine laughed before saying, "But, I did have a great time tonight."

"Me too." Jonathan said

The two of them looked at each other and Jonathan took it as his chance to kiss her. Even though he wasn't sure if she was feeling exactly the same as he was, he didn't want to lose the special moment he had with her. Jonathan leaned in, and he was about to plant a kiss on her lips when the both of them heard someone scream. They moved away from each other almost instantly.

"What was that?" Jasmine said  
"I don't know… But I think it's coming from over there." Jonathan said

The two of them looked at where Jonathan was pointing and it turned out to be a small crowd gathering by the lake in the park. They hurried over and pushed through the crowd; just enough to see what was happening.

A lady was flailing her arms in the water, trying her best to stay afloat.

No questions asked, Jonathan took off his jacket and threw it on the ground before diving into the lake. Jasmine was a little taken aback by the sudden quickness of Jonathan's actions. He had just gotten to the lady when paramedics arrived.

Everyone made way for the paramedics as they set up the gurney while Jonathan swam over with the lady. The paramedics helped the lady out of the water just before Jonathan got out.

One of the paramedics hurried over and wrapped Jonathan with a blanket.

"Thanks, Tyson." Jonathan said

"Don't mention it." Tyson said, "We should be thanking you. You saved us from getting wet."

Jonathan shoved Tyson a little, "Ha. Ha. You owe me your day's salary."

Tyson scoffed, "You wish, Good."

Jonathan smiled as did Tyson, who pat his back before heading towards the ambulance. Once she saw Tyson leave, Jasmine walked over to sit next to Jonathan, on the ground.

"Hey, you." Jasmine said

Jonathan turned and smiled, "Hey."

Jasmine chuckled to herself as she saw a leaf that was stuck to the side of Jonathan's head.

"What?" Jonathan asked

She shook her head as she reached over to help take it off.

"You shouldn't be laughing at the hero of the day." Jonathan said  
"Yes, sir." Jasmine said, making a salute.

She looked at him, "You were amazing out there."

"Well, it's my job." Jonathan said, "I save people for a living."

He grinned a little before saying, "So… Do I get a reward?"

"Like you said… It's a job… So, no reward." Jasmine said

Jonathan merely shrugged and turned to look away. Jasmine chuckled a little to herself before she leaned in, about to kiss him on the cheek. Just as she nearly kissed his cheek, Jonathan turned back and she kissed him on the lips.

Jasmine quickly moved back and covered her lips in surprise.

Jonathan smiled, "That's a nice reward."

She lightly hit him on the arm, "You knew!"

"Yeah.." Jonathan said, "I did."

Jasmine smiled shyly as Jonathan reached over to hold her hand, marking the start of their new relationship.


End file.
